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Sunday, May 26, 2013

The area left of #8 South that was seeded with Fescue last year came in great, and is already producing seed heads. In July these seed heads will turn golden brown and be about 18 inches tall. The vista from the tee will be great and will help shape the hole. As always, please refrain from driving in the Fescue areas. When the seed heads are matted down by a cart tire, they will not raise back up for the rest of the year. So, if a cart drives through these area, the cart tracks will be very evident all season long. We appreciate your understanding.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Kevin Kretz, one of our Assistant Superintendents, is in Dublin, Ohio through next weekend volunteering on the grounds crew for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. This is the home course for Jack Nicklaus and a great tournament to experience. Kevin is with about 40 other volunteers helping manicure the grounds for the event. When you're watching it on TV next week, you can be proud knowing one of our staff members is representing the club well and gaining knowledge to bring back home!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The tee surrounds on #1 and #2 South have germinated and are starting to grow in nicely. The germination covers have been removed but it will take more time for these areas to fill in completely and we ask that all foot traffic be kept off these areas until further notice. Holes 3 and 4 were prepped for seeding today and the others aren't far behind. By the weekend, we hope to have all the tee surrounds on the south course seeded, fertilized, and finished.

When the tee renovation is complete, our staff will begin to kill off the future fescue areas marked by our course architect that are currently bluegrass rough, and we will be seeding them soon after. As with any seeding, keeping cart traffic off these areas is very important as it will be very moist from extra irrigation to germinate the seed.

It's finally here and the wait is over! After last night's ribbon cutting there was a nice turnout of members to play these holes on the South and I think everyone was excited to have the complete South course back! With the weather looking great for the next 10 days, now is the time to get your tee time reserved with Brad! Enjoy-

Friday, May 10, 2013

Hector Velazquez, our Equipment Manager, recently won first place for Best Instructional Video/DVD from the Turf and Ornamental Communications Association, or TOCA, for a video he did last year. Today I was contacted by Jon Kiger from Turfnet who told me about the TOCA. He wrote, "It is made up of communications professionals from turf media, client supplier companies and their ad and pr agencies. For someone not working full time as a communications practitioner to win a first place award is quite an achievement".

I would like to personally congratulate Hector for this accomplishment and thank him for everything he does for Walnut Creek Country Club!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Members will notice yellow stripes in certain areas of the rough on the south course that resemble a hydraulic leak from a piece of equipment, but these lines have been intentionally killed with Round-Up, a non-selective herbicide. These lines were killed to indicate the new native Fescue seeding areas that were marked by our Golf Course Architect, Brian Huntley during his last visit to the club. In a few weeks, these areas inside the yellow lines will be killed entirely with round-up and seeded with our chosen Fescue varieties. Germination will be seen this season but it will take 3-5 years to reach it's peak and look it's best. Most likely it will go to seed and look beautiful the second or third year.

#1 South tee surrounds have germinated! This morning we observed the first signs of germination only 7 days after seeding. By the weekend it will undoubtedly be fuzzy with new growth. As we continue to grow these areas in, we ask that members and guest continue to use the designated walk paths on and off the tees and to avoid walking on the newly seeded areas.

Germination on 1 South Men's Tee 7 days after seeding

AERIFICATION:

South and West greens aerifications are complete and today we're tackling the North course. The anticipated rain tomorrow is great since all of our greens will be done and the rain will help work in the sand for a smooth surface. Given the nice weather, a 10-14 day recovery can be expected.

Core collector built by Hector saving money by reduced time and labor as well as leaving a cleaner, smoother green surface instead of shoveling off the cores!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Weather is starting to cooperate now and we're moving full speed on the tee squaring. You will notice the tees that are now complete are covered in what looks like white fabric. This material is seed germination matting that is laid down after seeding to offer erosion control, moisture retention, and better seed germination. It's preferred that members and guests utilize the sodded walk paths up to the tee surface now versus walking across the newly seeded turf when playing the south course this season. Below is a description of the process taken to seed the tee surrounds this spring. If you're wondering why you don't see grass coming through yet in week or two, that's because germination of Kentucky bluegrass normally takes 21 days so patients is needed, but the outcome will be great.

Prepped surrounds are seeded

After seeding, slow release fertilizer is applied to aid in growth after germination

Using a bunker raking machine, the newly seeded and fertilized surrounds are driven over back and forth to make small dimples. This is done to make good seed to soil contact needed for germination.

Close up photo of dimpling made by the bunker rake

When seeding and fertilizing are done, a pre-emergent herbicide isapplied to hold off weed growth while the seed is germinating

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Fall is the ideal time to spray for broad leaf weeds such as dandelions and clover as the herbicide will be translocated to the roots and ...

Hectors Shop On Tour Logo

Where is Hector Now??

If you're interested in following Hector on his journey across the USA, check out his website to see the clubs he will be visiting by clicking HERE! Best of luck Hector!!

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Scott Rettmann

Greens Superintendent

Ben Beard

Equipment Manager

Get to know Ben-

Ben has a working background and education in automotive repair as well as 2 years of experience working on golf course equipment at J.W. Turf, a golf course equipment dealership. Ben is getting married in July 2016 and enjoys hunting and fishing when he's not at work.

Alan Bidwell

Assistant Superintendent

Get to know Alan-

Al has been with Walnut Creek since 1969 as an Assistant Superintendent and knows the property well! Outside of work Al enjoys watching sports. Al also coached travel baseball in Pinkney and Novi for many years while his sons were growing up.

Michael Brown

Assistant Superintendent

Get to know Michael

Michael started at Walnut Creek in December 2015 and brings with him over 10 years of experience in the business. Michael is a Michigan State University graduate. He did his internship at Bel-Air Country Club and has worked as an Assistant at both Fellows Creek Golf Club and Boulder Point Golf Club. Michael also has experience in landscaping and project management which will come in handy as we continue our course renovations next year.

Tobias Fairchild

Assistant Superintendent

Get to know Tobias

Tobias is a 2013 Michigan State University graduate in Sports and Commercial Turf Management. He spent time working for the Great Lake Loons in addition to a year at Midland Country Club. Most recently before coming to Walnut Creek, Tobias was the Turf Production Manager at the Red Hen Turf Farm in Indiana.

Tugg

Newfoundland/Border Collie

Get to know Tugg

Tugg is a Newfoundland/Border Collie/Springer Spaniel who Scott and his wife adopted from Fido's Rescue in Ohio. Tugg is 3 years old and loves his days on the course. Please feel free and stop anytime and say hello to him on the course, he loves meeting people!